In the pre-match press conference, the captain says there is serenity in the group.

The Indomitable Lions have vowed to do everything in their might to obtain victory on the third and last day of play of the group stage of the ongoing 30^th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations. In the pre-match press conference at the Banapa Stadium in Malabo, the captain of the Indomitable Lions, Stephane Mbia said there was serenity in the den and a firm determination to win this Wednesday’s game against the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire.

He stressed that the most important thing for now is qualification for the knock out stage. He said he was happy about the state of mind of the players saying both teams have individual talents, the difference is going to be from the character, mentality or a strong state of mind. The coach of the Lions, Volker Finke on his part called for calm. He said there was no need for polemic but concentration. He corroborated Mbia’s view that the difference is going to be at the level of the state of mind.

After the press conference, the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Adoum Garoua paid the Lions a visit at their base in the Sofitel hotel in Malabo to further boost their morale. After the meeting which was held behind closed doors, the Minister said he was bearer of words of encouragement from the Head of State, Paul Biya, to the Lions.

The campaign for the 2015 AFCON seem to have boiled down to a battle between Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon. Both teams know each other very well, having met twice in the qualifying stage of the competition. In the away leg qualifier in Yaounde, Cameroon trounced Côte d’Ivoire 4-1. Both sides separated on a one-all tie in the return leg game in Abidjan. In a crucial qualifier match for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Cameroon also had an upper hand 3-2.

However as Seidou Keita said, ‘statistics are a thing of the past’. Both teams absolutely need a victory to clinch a quarter final berths to avoid the game of hazard afterwards in case of parity. To avoid match fixing, Guinea and Mali will be locking horns in Mongomo at the same time as Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire will be playing in Malabo, with the same stakes involved.

The Lions had their last training session yesterday and the traditional reconnaissance visit to the stadium later on in the evening. They are in a habit of just having a walk around town on match days, meditating on the future challenge.